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CT Hike - sections 3 thru 5

My 11 year old son and I recently completed a short section of the Colorado Trail (485 mile trail from Denver to Durango). Following is a brief overview of our trip.

We drove up to Kenosha Pass from Dallas and camped overnight in the Kenosha Pass campground at 10,000'. P1000249.jpg

My mom drove us about 50 miles down to the Buffalo Creek trailhead the next morning and we started the hike around 10 am. Stopped by a nice stream to filter water, have lunch and set up a hammock to rest and relax in (another nice feature of a hammock as opposed to a tent).P1000258.jpg

Continuing on we encountered a thunderstorm. We donned our raingear and continued hiking with our umbrellas. P1000261.JPG
As the storm intensified and started with some pretty intense hail, we took shelter under some trees. P1000264.JPG

Colorado thunderstorms are known for passing through pretty quickly, but this one lasted a few hours so we called it a day after about 7 miles and set up camp by a nice stream.P1000268.jpg

Next day we got in 11 miles, mostly uphill and camped at about 9,500'.
Again we were glad to have our hammocks since flat spots are few and far between in that area.P1000290.jpg

Day three started out with a steep climb up to 10,750'. That took a little bit of a toll on my son since he grew up at 750', but he's a trooper so we kept on. Got in almost 15 miles, even with a couple of nice hammock rest stops.P1000309.jpg
Views were awesome.P1000343.jpgP1000339.jpg

Hiked through the Lost Creek Wilderness on day 4 and finished up back at Kenosha Pass.
Total distance about 46 miles, total elevation gain was about 8,000'.

This was the first real backpacking trip for my youngest son and I didn't know what to expect as far as his stamina and elevation tolerance, but he did great and we had a fantastic time together. This will be a lifelong memory for me and I hope it is for him too. P1000327.jpg

The hammocks were great and we were both glad to have them instead of a tent. There are a few spots along these sections to tent camp, but the hammock sites are endless and we were able to camp in areas that seemed to have never been camped in before.

We owe a big thanks to Hammock Forums and to all the fantastic people on this site who have willingly shared their knowledge and passion for hammocks. (Must also thank Backpacking Light forums for their input and advice on lightweight gear.)
It's much appreciated my friends!
John

Nice report and great pics. Those will be memories that will last a lifetime.

"Surround yourself with the best people you can find, delegate authority, and don't interfere."- RONALD REAGAN

"There is new life in the soil for every man. There is healing in the trees for tired minds and for our overburdened spirits, there is strength in the hills, if only we will lift up our eyes. Remember that nature is your great restorer." - CALVIN COOLIDGE